A day in her paws
by Rena.Robacki
Summary: Again a picture has inspired me. How would it be to be in the skin of Carlos' beloved pet? To see the world through her eyes? Her name is Sydney and she's a Golden retriever :


Waking up in the morning I'm feeling an arm heavy on my ribs. I sight at the pure delight of its weight. His smell invades my nostrils and I smile without thinking. A dog yawns somewhere close but I don't bother to even open my eyes, he feels so good.

There's a little something inside that tells me he's mine, he loves me no matter what and no one can ever change that. I love that. Makes me feel safe and loved. I hear him stir in his sleep and try to turn on my other side to watch him.

Something feels strange. The bedding under me feels weird. I try to grab the sheets to feel the texture but my fingers won't move properly. Instead I move my whole wrist. "This is weird!" I think while yawning and hearing a dog whimper again. "Wish that dog would just shut up. It's gonna wake up my Carlos!" I think almost angry and open up my eyes to the creme window curtain in front of me. I blink as the light is streaming in and my sleepy eyes are still sensitive.

That's when I see a couple of somewhat familiar paws in front of me. I look at them. I try to move my left hand and the left paw moves. I open my mouth to cry out "what the fuck" and a dog whimper escapes my lips. "WHAT THE FUCK" and the dog barks.

- Sydney! Stop it..Carlos says from behind me. His voice is sleepy and warm and I melt.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up" I say but only more dog whimpers come out of me.

- Come on, Sydney - just five more minutes, please! I promise I'll take you for a walk then, ok? Please.. He turns on his other side and the arm weighing down on my ribs is gone.

"Oh my dear LORD! I'm Sydney?!" My brain screams but I keep my mouth..well..muzzle shut. I lift up my head and turn to Carlos. "That's why everything is so clear and colorless. That's why you smell so delicious. That's why you love me so much. I've turned into your Sydney. God! But..how?" I scramble my brain while my senses are invaded by Carlos' smell.

"I know! The fairground fortune teller! I wished that I'd be Sydney for a day when she told me she'd grant me any wish. Wow! No!..But then..how?..Yeah..that's the only sensible way..but there's NOTHING sensible about this! I've turned into a dog! Oh my LORD! I've turned into a dog..and I wasted a perfectly good wish on it!" I resign myself to being Sydney for a day and get up.

Her paws..well..MY paws for today..feel strong under me. I feel like I could run a marathon and not get tired. And I also feel hungry. Very, very, very hungry. Carlos needs to feed me and he needs to feed me NOW! Before we go for that walk. A devious thought forms in my mind.

"I'm Sydney, right? I can do whatever I want, he won't be upset, right?" I smile and feel my dog lips curl up and my tongue falling out of my mouth. This way his scent is even stronger. I can almost feel it on my tongue. Sweet. Delicious. Sleepy. "Oh, I'll fix that!" I think and step over him to lick his face.

My Carlos tastes like heaven - sweet with a bit of a musky flavor left over from his cologne. His stubble is rough against my tongue, but it rather tickles me.

- Sydney! He tries to push me off.

I don't give up. I playfully jump on top of him and lick his face some more. I'm a bit heavy so he feels me on top of him. Now he's giggling because I've muzzled his ear. "God he smells like Heaven!"

- Sydney, get off!

Carlos is giggling at me. Not a drop of annoyance in his voice. I bark happily.

- What's gotten into you today? He giggles again and opens his chocolate eyes to meet mine.

I swear I could get lost in his gaze. But he doesn't allow me to as he rubs between my ears. My dog instincts take over, my ears curl back in pleasure and my eyes fly shut for a second. He takes advantage and gets me off of him. He throws the covers off and struts to the bathroom.

"Oh my! He sleeps naked?" I can't take my eyes off of him but the door slams shut and I sigh in resignation. Another whimper comes from my muzzle. "I have to learn to control myself better. He'll catch on..wait - how could he? How could anyone catch on that a woman's mind has been trapped..transferred..whatever it has been done to me..to a dog's brain? Yeah..if I tell anyone of this they'll say I'm insane!"

The bathroom door opens and Carlos comes out wearing a dark towel around his waist. "The bad thing about being a dog - I can't see colors. I miss colors! He'd look so amazing in full color!" I think as he pulls up a pair of underwear and throws the towel on the bed next to me.

I jump off the bed and head for the bedroom door. "Where the hell am I going? I have no idea where I'm going!" So I just stop in the door way and sit down to watch him as he makes his - our! - bed and goes to throw the towel in the hamper. "God! You're so amazing!" I look up at him with adoration in my eyes as he comes by me.

- Come on, Sydney, lets get you some breakfast. Carlos says as he exits the bedroom and goes for the kitchen - I can only hope.

My hopes are realized. He takes me to the kitchen and puts down a bowl of some kibble that smells delicious! My stomach churns and I wolf down half my bowl in just one breath.

- Slow down, Sydney. You'll give yourself a belly ache. He giggles while patting my back then going to fix his own breakfast.

I know he has a point so I slow down. But now I'm thirsty. The other bowl is empty. I look up. Carlos has his back to me. He's making his own breakfast. I sniff at the air. Bread. Salami. Cucumbers. Tomatoes. Mayo. Orange. "Healthy" I think as I head to pick up my second bowl and stand move to next to him with the thing in my muzzle.

Carlos is not looking at me. He's turned to the stove. I sniff at the air. Eggs. I put the metal bowl down making sure I make a bit of noise to make him pay attention to me. He's heard me. He turns and looks down at me as I open my muzzle and let my tongue out. Feels so good to have his smell on my tongue again! This time a bit of soap is mixed in with his sweet smell.

- Oh, water. Sorry Syd. Carlos says as he picks up my bowl and fills it up with water. He goes back to where I'm supposed to eat and places it down carefully. I lick his hand as a thank you and he giggles again.

- I love you too Sydney. He says with sparkling eyes and places a soft kiss on the top of my head right before going back to the stove. I sniff again. I hate the smell of gas - that for sure!

I decide to drink a bit of water, as my mouth feels dry. I let the dog take over and the motions are simple. Soon half a bowl is gone as well. I feel stuffed and happy so I go lay down by Carlos' feet while he eats.

I patiently wait for him to finish his breakfast and clean after himself. My eyes follow him with adoration as I rest my head on my paws. When his phone rings I see a shadow appear on his face. My head shoots up wanting to bite whoever called and messed with my Carlos' happiness.

But soon he's laughing and I feel better. I don't care to pay attention to his conversation. It's not really that important. Until he leaves my sight. That bothers me so I follow him to the pool area.

My attention is completely distracted by the shimmer of the clear water. I know I love - well - Sydney loves to swim. I can feel it in the way her - well - my paws tingle to go jump in the pool. With the corner of my eye I see a dot of something really light. I turn to it. It's a squeaky toy - a duck! It's pretty chewed on so I guess it's Sydney's. I run, grab it and bring it with me to Carlos' feet.

He's still on the phone. "Wonder how upset he'd be if I chewed on his phone..or threw it in the pool?" I think with jealousy steaming up inside my belly. He looks down and takes the duck.

- What to play catch? He whispers to me while the person on the line is talking. I look at him with adoration. "How does he know what I want without even a whimper from me?"

Carlos throws the duck right for the pool. I run after it happily. When my body hits the water the splash deafens me for a second and water rushes in my ears. But I don't care! Feel so good to be paddling! He taught me. I can still feel his strong arms under me, holding me steady, keeping me safe, not letting me be afraid of the cool water. I swim and bite down on the duck with such pleasure when it squeaks in "pain". I swim over to the steps, shake off some water and run to Carlos again.

He giggles. I can't get enough of that sound! I'd do anything to have him giggle like that all day long. He takes the duck, while still on the phone, and throws it again. I run and catch it mid air, right before it makes it into the pool. Except I didn't think my jump properly and I fall over into the pool anyway.

Getting back to the surface I hear Carlos laughing. Really laughing. My heart accelerates. "I made him laugh!" I paddle for the steps again. "Maybe he'll play with me now and let that phone alone already!" I think as my paws touch the first step.

- Sydney, come here, girl! Carlos calls for me and I run to him, tongue hanging out again, just as I place the duck at his feet with a happy squeak of release. He has my leash in his hands. "We're going for a walk!" I think and my body just jumps up his thigh, without me ordering it to.

- Sydney, down! He orders and I obey. He places the leash on me and lets it drop. I'm a bit surprised but I see him taking out his bike. I'm so happy! I'll be able to run!

We go out - him first, me after. He's my male, I'm supposed to follow, aren't I? He mounts his bike and allows me to pick which way to go. I start running and pull him after me. I let my feet take the course they desire and soon we reach the park. "Who knew that letting your body take over could be so fun!..Or is it Sydney herself taking over?" I wonder but let the thought go as soon as we get to the dog yard.

Carlos lets me inside and takes off my leash. I run off and let my body take over again as dogs approach me sniff my back side. "Gross!" I think but shut off my brain as my dog body does what it's supposed to do when meeting another dog. I try not to register the smells.

Now I definitely know that I'm just sharing today with Sydney. She's in here someplace. I can't feel the smell from the other dogs' butts. She must be shielding my human mind from being scared for life. I wonder if she knows. Maybe she does. I can feel intelligence in this dog. I'm still amazed at her when her eyes - my eyes - catch the sight of Carlos leaning of the yard wall, on his elbows, watching his precious dog.

I run to him and bark happily. He giggles again. I love that sound. I run back to the dogs and get them to chase me around the yard. Carlos is giggling again. Perfect! More running.

He loves me. I can see in the way he's looking at me, always careful that the other dogs don't bite too hard. I run until my paws can run no more. Then he calls me.

- Syd! Ready to go home?

I run to the yard gate and he puts on my leash before letting me out and mounting his bike again. This time he's riding at a slow pace as he saw I'm tired. I let him lead the way back home. Our home!

When he lets me in the kitchen I drink up the rest of my water and nibble a bit more on what's left of my kibble. When I turn around he's gone.

"Where are you?" I think and sniff at the air. A light scent of him lands on my tongue as it flops out of my muzzle - it's going out of the kitchen, inside the house. I follow his trail and find him in the studio.

I whimper at his feet and he absently caresses my head as he's now paying attention to the computer. Sounds that make no sense are coming out of that thing. I don't like it. It hurts my ears. But it doesn't matter. Carlos is here. This is where I belong. I sit down next to him and place my head in his lap. One of his hands is still caressing me. I close my eyes. There's nothing better.

When he stops caressing me I lay down at his feet and allow myself to drift in and out of sleep. My paws hurt from all the running. My body needs rest. I doze off for some time until a loud bell wakes me up with a bark.

- It's ok, Syd. Carlos says as he gets up.

I run before him at the door. I don't know or care who it is, but my Carlos has to be safe. As soon as I get to the door a well know scent hits my nostrils. I let my tongue out and bark happily. Fox! Fox is here! That means James is here! I jump on the door with anticipation. Fox! I bark out loud and his bark replies me.

- Syd! Down! Carlos orders. I look back at him wagging my tail with pure happiness. I don't want to obey. I want this door to open! I wan to play with Fox! Now!

- Sydney! I said DOWN! Now! When he uses that tome of voice I have to obey. I step down and Carlos opens the door. Fox comes running in and jumps all over me. I jump back and playfully nibble at his ear. He nibbles at my chest and I jump back again with a happy bark.

I hear Carlos and James giggle and turn to them. "James is so tall!" I think looking up - way-way up! He bends down and pets my head.

- Hi, pretty lady. He greets me and I lick his hand. He tastes so good! Delicious like freshly cut grass. But I have no time to contemplate James' taste and beauty. Fox is barking for me. I run after him into the back yard. He wants to play tug-war. I indulge him. He's so cute! I let him win - but not without a fight.

Wonder if he knows I allow him to win every time, just because he's so cute when he's fighting me with all his might. But I'm still tired after my day at the Park with Carlos. Speaking of which - where is my Carlos? Back in the studio?

I bark at Fox to signal that I want to go back inside. When I turn for the house I see it's brighter than the rest of the landscape. "It's that dark that they need light? Wow! Did today come to an end already?" I think with a drop of sadness. But my body doesn't allow for sadness - it lunges forward to the house.

Fox is right behind me. We run to our masters. They're in the studio. They're singing. Carlos' warm voice washes over me even before I enter the room and jump on the couch. Fox jumps next to me. A new scent is mixed in with Carlos' and James' scents.

Fox smelled it too. I look at him. He knows the scent. Wait! So do I. It's - I sniff at the air - it's familiar, safe - my tongue is out again - tastes like, tastes like beach and something else, like musk, just not as sweet as my Carlos. This taste is more sharp, almost hurts my taste buds. I sniff again and my brain clicks - Kendall and Logan are here!

"Of course they're here! They're recording!" my human brain thinks. I relax and place my muzzle on my paws. Fox leans into my side with a tiny whimper.

By the time my Carlos and his pack are out of that room I'm half asleep. James comes and sits down by Fox's side. I wish Carlos would do the same and he does. I put my head on his lap as Kendall and Logan mess with my Carlos' computer.

The night passes with them recording, Fox making a mess of their papers while James just laughs and indulges him and I watch the whole thing. My Carlos is so amazing. His smell now covers all others and I am happy to have all the important males in my life in just one room.

Soon Carlos' pack leaves and James takes Fox with him. I'm a bit sad but that only means that i'll get to have Carlos to myself all over again.

He decides to take a shower again. I don't understand why. His smell is so amazing! Showering just takes it away! But he does that every night. I go jump on the bed and find myself a soft spot to curl up in while I wait for him.

He comes out smelling like soap again. I can feel his weight make the mattress move as he gets into bed.

- Syd, you asleep? He asks gently. I lift my head up and look right into those chocolate eyes of his.

- Come up here, girl! He's patting the pillow next to him.

I slowly get up and move next to him, letting my head fall on the pillow. His hand is on my rib cage again with it's sweet weight. I feel his warm body on my back as I close my eyes and drift into deep, happy sleep.

As I wake up light is streaming through the curtains. I feel my fluffy bed underneath me and sorrow bites. The dream I just had! Nothing can compare to it. I open my eyes and look for my phone.

- 12 missed calls? WHAT? How did that happen? I scream out.

I open the missed calls log.

- They're from YESTERDAY? But..yesterday was Friday? Today is..SUNDAY!? I yell checking and double checking my phone.


End file.
